The following are a few tips I discovered lurking about on the desktop of Windows XP. Although some of the tips may work in earlier versions of Windows I can only vouch for Windows XP. At a recent NBCUG meeting it was found that an overwhelming majority of members now use Windows XP.

Change your mouse cursor:

Enlarge your teeny-weeny desktop icons:

Are you tired of looking at small icons on your desktop? Here are three ways to enlarge them:

1. Right-click on Start and select Properties followed by Customize. Under the General tab place a check at Large Icons.

2. Right-click on an empty space on your desktop and select Properties. Select the Settings tab and put your mouse cursor on the Screen Resolution slider. While holding down your left mouse key drag the slider back and forth and notice how the display changes size. I use a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels.

3. Same as 2 above but select the Appearance tab rather than the Settings tab and then select Advanced. Under the heading Item: click on the down arrow and scroll to Icon. You can change the icon size on the right. My icons are size 56. Also you can change the Icon font type and size and can even change the horizontal or vertical spacing between icons by scrolling to the proper entry.

Change your desktop icons and arrange them differently:

There are lots of free icons on the web that you can find by typing "free icons" in Google. Before downloading them create a folder somewhere called Icons so you'll have a place to download then. To create an Icon folder go to My Computer, select the C drive and find the place you wish to create a folder, perhaps at My Documents folder. Click on it and select File at the top, followed by New and Folder. It will be called New Folder by default so change the name to Icons. Now go find some neat icons on the web using www.google.com

To change an icon on your desktop, right-click on it and select Properties followed by Change Icon. If you don't see an icon already displayed that you like click on Browse and go to the folder where you downloaded icons and select the one you want. I like my icons grouped together that have a similar function. For example, all my finance icons have a Walt Disney Goofy character.

Everyone seems to arrange icons differently on their desktop. I like to mine lined up starting at the left. Currently I have 63 and arrange them by right-clicking in open space on the desktop and select Arrange By followed by Name, Auto Arrange, Align to Grid, Show Desktop Icons and Lock Web Items. I then drag icons where I want them to be grouped by categories, with the most used icons on the right.

Keep your PC clock updated automatically:

If your clock time is not displayed in the lower right corner of your desktop, called the Systray, put it there by right-clicking on Start and select Properties followed by Taskbar and put a check by "Show the clock."

To keep your clock updated automatically, right-click on the time shown in the lower right (Systray) and select Adjust Date/Time followed by Internet Time. When you connect to the Internet your PC will synchronize your clock with an atomic clock somewhere on the web. For earlier versions of Windows I suggest you enter "clock update" in Google and find a free program that can do the same thing.